Shatrughan Sinha credits both Gandhi and Jinnah for India's independence, stirs row

Actor-turned-politician Shatrughan Sinha, who recently left the Bharatiya Janata Party and joined the Congress, said that both Mahatma Gandhi and Muhammad Ali Jinnah played a role in Indian independence.

“Ye Congress parivar Mahatma Gandhi se leke, Sardar Vallabhbhai Patel se leke, Muhammad Ali Jinnah se leke, Jawaharlal Nehru se leke, swargiya Indira Gandhi se leke, Rajiv Gandhi se leke aur Rahul Gandhi se leke inki party hai jinka desh ke vikas me, desh ki tarakki me, desh ki azadi me sabse mehatvapurna aur sabse bada yogdaan hua, isliye hum yaha aye (This is the Congress family that starts from Mahatma Gandhi, to Sardar Vallabbhai Patel, Mohammad Ali  Jinnah, Jawaharlal Nehru, Indira Gandhi, Rajiv Gandhi, Rahul Gandhi, and Subhas Chandra Bose, it's their party. They played the most important role in country's development and independence and so I joined their party. I have joined their party and will never leave the party),” said Sinha.

Sinha said this while campaigning for Chief Minister Kamal Nath's son Nakul Nath, who is contesting from the Chhindwara Lok Sabha parliamentary constituency against BJP's Nathan Shah.

Few Congress leaders distanced themselves from Shatrughan's comment. Speaking to reporters, UP Congress chief Raj Babbar said that the Grand Old Party is a party of Gandhi, Nehru and Patel, but did not take Jinnah's name.

Taking a swipe at Shatrughan, senior BJP leader and Minority Affairs minister Mukhtar Abbas Naqvi said, "Looks like Jinnah's spirit has entered Shatrughan's body."